Fiber picker



oct. 25, 19.38. M, MLJDRICK 2,134,312

FIBER PICKER :I TTOR/VEY y BY I oct. z5, 1938.

M. MuDRlcK 2,134,312

FIBER PICKER Filed Nov. 6, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l -2/ 5 5 277i 40 4 50 fs -23 JJ' Z 35W; za

/N VENTOR Mee/5 Mae/c@ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 25, 1938 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIBER PICKER Morris Mudrick, Losr` Angeles, Calif. Application November 6, 1935, Serial No. 48,484 2 claims. (o1. 1.9-90) This invention relates generally to ber pickers and is specifically directed to devices adapted to soften and disentangle the matted .threads of certain fibers for use as upholstery and mattress filling, by the violent impact of a series ofrotating bars.

The filaments of the bers usually employed in upholstery and the like, such as coconut, moss, cotton, sisal, kapok, and floss, contain natural oils which, due to the viscidity, areV diflicult to extract until thoroughly dry, which leaves the ber a hard, matted mass of stiff threads, unsuited for use in upholstery or mattresses, without further treatment.

In the art prior to my invention, it has been found that the ber may be softened and Vseparated into light, yieldable threads byviolentlaceration and succussion of the mass to breakup the dried residue of the oil into a dust whichis then'easily removed by a blower. However, the cost in both time and money incident to such prior art devices to successfully accomplish the results desired, as well as their complicacy of structure,1imits their utility, and restricts their application to fiber which might otherwise have numerous additional uses.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a device in which dried, matted fiber may be disentangled, softened and loosened vby violent impact of a Vplurality of beater bars and teeth, having incorporated therewith means for the automatic removal of fiber, thus conditioned, to permit continuous feeding.

It is a particular object of the present invention to supplant or augment devices of the prior art, designed to lacerate or tear the fiber, by the provision of a rotor carrying a series of bars to beat and loosen dried adhesive substances from the fiber and by thus flexing the filaments t0 restore elasticity and pliability thereto.

Another object is to provide a drum in which material may be disintegrated, loosened or flexed by the impact of a series of bars disposed on` a shaft longitudinally extending below the central axis of the drum to permit material to be thrown free of the bars above the shaft and prevent its accumulation on the floor of the drum.

Another object is the provision of a drum having a plurality of teeth disposed on its inner wall against which matted or adhesive materials may be violently thrown by the impact of a series of beater bars, diametrically disposed on va rapidly rotated shaft, said teeth being inclinedin the direction of rotation of said shaft to check the movement of the material thus thrown and permit its droppingback into the path of the bars withoutxaccumulating on the teeth.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of .a screened container into which .dust and debris, shaken loose from the fiber vby the impact'of a series of rapidly rotating barswill settle for subsequent disposition.

Still other objects, such as durability, simplicity in both construction and operation, comparative economy of manufacture,l wide scope of utility, andfacility of execution' will be obvious to those of skill in this art.y

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a plan view of thecomplete assemf blage of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device as shown in Fig. 1; Fig. Sis a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 depict-Y ing the working parts of my invention in detail; Figs. 4 `and 5 are sectional views on lines 4.-4 and 5'-5, respectively, of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numerals of Ywhich indicate similar partsV throughout the several views, IIJ designates a horizontally disposed drum, having end walls` II and I2, supported on abase I3. Plates III- I4 are provided on opposite sides of drumI to reinforce its position relative to base I3. f The upper half of drum :I0 forms a door I5 which is hinged at I6 to facilitate access to the interior thereof for initially filling thedrum with fiber, and cleaning, etc. Locking means for door I5 is indicated at I1,consisting of a series of staples protruding from the flanged lower half of drum I0 through holes in a flange I8 on the door I5, and secured. by pins I9.` A nut having `a handle 2I for manual manipulation is provided at the top of one end of the door which is adapted to screw. into a flange 22 Aaround the inner periphery of end Wall II of drum I0., A chute 23 through end wall I2 of -the drum facilitates the feeding of fiber into the drum as` conditioned fiber is mechanically removed through the opposite end, as will be presently described. An exit opening 24 in end Wall II of therdrum is spaced near the bottom thereof through which ber, after passing from chute 23 through the drum, isdrawn into a circular fanhousing 25 by a centrifugal fan. about to'be described, said housing being secured by any suitable means to the end of theV drum around opening 24.

Bearings` 26 and Y2'I are mounted on base I3 at the outside of drum I0 below chute 23, and out,-r side of housing 25, respectively,rin which shaft 278, extendinghorizontally through drum I0 ap-f 55 proximately one third the length o-f the diameter of the drum from the bottom thereof, is rotatably mounted. An electric motor, diagrammatically indicated at 29 (Figs. 1 and 2), is supported on an extension of base I3 and adapted to rotate shaft 28 through a flanged connection 30 therewith. A collar 3| is splined to shaft A28 in housing 25 as designated at 32 on which are radially secured two oppositely disposed T irons 33-33. A pair of vanes 34,-34 of a centrifugal fan are attachedbyrivets, bolts, Qrithe like to T irons 33-33. Fiber, carried by the air flow, created by the fan, from chute 23 at A series of beater bars 35, spacedapart at varying distances, extend diametrically through shaft 28 and are of a length suiicien't to` clear the bot- Y' tom of drum I0 upon rotation of the shaft. Each` bar, beginning with the bar nearest endV wall I2 of the drumisstaggered ;o around the shaft in the direction. of rotation thereof, with respect to the bar precedingit, thus as a bar passes through any particular radius of the circlein which the ends of the bars are rotated, vthe shaft will make 135 of a complete rotation before carrying the next successive bar on theshaft through that radius which allows material thrown free of a bar against the wall of the drum to fall back into the path .of'the next bar, as will be apparentin the description of theoperation hereof to follow.

'I'he outer end of each bar `36fis` bevelled with the apex 3? of the bevel at the front of the bar thus facilitatingrotation of lthe shaft by permitting the bars to cut throughh'ard material which may tend to wedge againstthe wall of the drum.

Matted fiber dropped through chute 2'3 is broken or partially separated by theffirstblow's of the beater bars which facilitates its 'rotative progress throughthedrum as will be'more in detail described. Due tothefoff-'center position of the shaft and the length of the'beater bars, none of the fiber is permitted to lay on the iioor of the drum, but is constantly thrown bythe impact of the bars and the circulation of airoutwardly and upwardly against the walls of the drum. A plurality of teeth 38, secured by rivets or the like, are disposed in a row, slightly vbelow the longitudinal center of the drum onthe Wall thereof-nearest adjacent the upwardly rotating bars; Each of the teeth 38 are inclined inthe direction of rotation of the shaft to prevent hooking and piling up of the filaments of the ber thereon, as will be more fully described. A second row of teeth 39, staggered with respect to the rst row, are secured to door I5 ofthe drum just above row'38. Their degree of inclination from the diameter of the drum is .slightly less than the teeth of row 38 as the velocity of the upwardly moving blocks of berwill be by their impact against the first row of teeth and their tendency to accumulate on teeth 39 will be accordingly reduced. On. the inside of door I5 above shaft 28 two additional rows of teeth 40 and 4I are disposed `in a manner similar to rows 38 and 39 and having the saine relative degree of inclination. On the side of the drum opposite teeth 38 and 39 are located a third pair of relatively staggered rows of teeth, r42 and 43, the upper row 42 being inclined toa greater degree than the lower row due tofthe movement of the beater bars at that sideof the drum being downward and for the reason above referred to. The inclination of the teeth may be varied inF particular modications of my invention to `facilitate one end ,of drum I3, through the drum, to the fan housing, is discharged through a pipe 35 in housing 25.

partially checked cleaning of the teeth by the momentum of the material itself and the circulation of air, as will be obvious to those of skill in this art.

Riveted to the underside of door I5 a guide 44 is provided consisting of an 4angle iron, having one end positioned over the upwardly moving bars 36 in a vertical plane between the two bars nearest end wall II, and having its opposite end over the downwardly moving rotating bars in a plane between wall II and its adjacent bar. 'A grilleY or screen 45M'is provided in the floor of the drum proximate end wall I2 having a receptacle 46 therebelow riveted to the wall of the drum, to receive the bulk of the dust and debris shaken from the matted fiber in its preliminary treatment by the bars nearest chute 23. The flow of air from chute 23 at the top of .Y the drum to opening 24 will promptly remove dust tending to settle in other parts of the drum. Accumulated dust may be removed from receptacle 46 through a door 41, hinged at 48, and provided withlatches, diagrammatically illustrated at 49.

.In the operation of the device dried blocks of matted fiber are slid into the drum through chute 23. The force of the initial impact of the rapidly rotating bars 36 against the blocks of ber break the blocks into several pieces before the :ber contacts the wall of the drum, thus permitting larger blocks of ber to be inserted through chute 23 than would otherwise be possible. After passing under the shaft 28, the partially broken material is thrown outwardly against the drum by centrifugal force where each pair of rows of teeth, particularly those provided at the top of the drum, check the swirling motion of the ber and permit the same to fall into the path, and be violently struck, by the bars 36, and the cycle is repeated until the fiber is removed through opening 24. It should be particularly noted that it is the alternate impact of the bars against the ber and the ber against the teeth which causes its disintegration rather than laceration of the blockby the teeth or other means.

Due to the concentrated weight of the matted ber and the centrifugal force caused by the rotating shaft and bars, the ber is prevented from moving through the drum toward the openingV 24 until it is thoroughly broken up, when its enlarged bulk and decreased weight comparatively slows up its rotative movement and enables the suction created by the fan to draw the loosened ber towards opening 24. When it reaches the bar at the opposite end `o`f the shaft the now thoroughly disassociated filaments are thrown against guide 44. The ber is then directed by the guide 44 toward end wall I I where the forces of gravity and the suction of the fan combine to discharge the conditioned fiber through opening 24 and pipe 35 in the fan housing.

It will be seen that numerous changes may be necessary to adequately condition different fibers which may vary in their renitence and adhesiveness of the threads, such, for instance, as the size of thedrum, the speed of the shaft, or the size or relative power efficiency of the fan, all of which will be obvious to those of skill Vin this art and within the scope of the appended claims.

It should be understoodthat I do not limit myinvention to use with -brous materials as it may be employedY on numerous other materials, adapted for disintegration by impact, with equal efliciency. 4 y

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

V1. In a device of the character described, a,

drum, a shaft, means to rotatably carry said shaft in said drum, a plurality of beater bars carried by said shaft, two rows `of teeth on the inner wall of said drum, each tooth of the rst row located to the side of the other row from which the beater bars are moved being inclined in the direction of rotation of said shaft, and each tooth of said second row of teeth being inclined in the direction of rotation of said shaft to a lesser degree with respect to the wall of said drum than the teeth of said rst row.

2. In a device of the character described, a drum having its lower wall arcuate, a rotatable shaft in the lower portion of said drum parallel to and in vertical alignment with the axis of the drum said shaft being disposed below the geometrical center of the arc formed by said wall, a plurality of beater bars carried by said shaft movable nearest said Wall at its lowermost portion, a plurality of teeth of uniform cross-section secured on the inner surface of said drum inclined throughout their lengths in the direction of rotation of said shaft, said drum having an inlet opening and an exit opening at opposite ends thereof, and means comprising a blower toY draw material to be treated toward said exit opening. MORRIS VMUDRICKI 

